


Not the popular choice

by moeblobmegane



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Makoto is an angel, Rin is fail, but everyone loves him, preschool!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-10
Updated: 2014-02-10
Packaged: 2018-01-11 20:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1177787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moeblobmegane/pseuds/moeblobmegane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin is a preschool teacher, Ran and Ren are so much younger than in canon (4 or 5 years old), Makoto is still a doting brother. And everyone wants to marry Haruka-sensei.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not the popular choice

"Is everything okay?" Makoto Tachibana, the tall, handsome and kind big brother to Ran and Ren, stood beside Rin with a worried expression. They were at the side of the preschool building, a few feet away from the entrance. Rin was trying really hard to hide behind the pillar, but he obviously failed.

Normally, this would be his cue to smile like nothing is wrong, but he really wasn’t in the mood for that. He had pretended to be a princess  _the whole day_  for little Aki earlier. He was done with pretending. “Ren and Ran are inside.” He said instead, choosing not to answer. He was tired and depressed and he can’t get inside the preschool with this kind of expression. He has to recompose himself right here.

Instead of walking inside though, Makoto just stayed right there beside him. There was a small frown on his face as he watched Rin. “What’s wrong?”

Rin counted one to ten inside his mind, chanting ‘this is a guardian, this is a guardian, be _respectful_ ' to himself. “It's nothing.” He forced out a smile as he looked up at him. “It was just tiring. The children were very excited about the activities today.” He explained with his professional tone. “In fact, I think Ran made a Valentines' card for you.” He added this tidbit of information because parents usually jump at any opportunity to gush about how cute their kids are. It would take the attention away from him.

Makoto just smiled softly and nodded. “She said yesterday she’ll make me one.” He explained. Then, after a few seconds of silence, he fiddled with the end of his tie and asked again “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

Blinking at him in confusion, Rin slowly nodded his head. “Just tired.” He reassured. It was weird, feeling like this guy cares so much about him despite them not talking much with each other. “You should go inside. Ren gets cranky when you’re late.” He smiled then, a real small smile caused by a sudden warm feeling

"Well then," He placed a hand on Rin’s shoulder and squeezed lightly, as if offering comfort. "I’ll go on ahead."

—-

After another ten minutes of sulking and thinking about his choices in life, Rin walked to his classroom quickly. It would be bad to just leave Nagisa alone. Who knows what kind of wisdom that brat would pass on to his students? “I’m ba-” He stopped on his tracks as he heard Haruka’s voice from within.

"I need to go back to my classroom." Haruka said flatly. He probably had that blank look on his face again. Why does the kids like him, again? "Just play with Nagisa."

"But Haru-chan!" It was Ran, whining and thrashing her hands around. "Promise me you’ll marry me when I grow up!"

Ren, as expected, complained loudly at that. “No! Haru-chan will marry me!”

Several voices spoke up then. Aki insisted that Ren can’t marry another boy. Sou shouted that everyone should share Haruka-sensei with everyone because sharing is important. Hana cried out that Haru-chan gave her a cookie and that meant Haruka loved her the most.

Rin felt his chest constrict painfully. No matter how much he exerts effort on doing all kinds of activities and teaching the kids as passionately as he could, they all still wanted Haruka-sensei. Even the parents loved that guy. Even  _pets_  loved him. It was so unfair.

"I think Sou-kun’s right." Makoto’s voice rose up above everyone, silencing the kids and making them look up at him with their big eyes. "You should just share Haruka-sensei."

"Do you want to share too, brother?" Ran asked innocently. She was obviously pouting from the tone of her voice.

Makoto was quiet for a few seconds, then he chuckled quietly. “I think I’ll choose Rin-sensei instead.” He answered with a hushed tone, as if sharing a secret.

That tone does wonders for the kids, because then they inched closer and spoke in whispers too. Rin peeked a bit, careful not to be seen. His cheeks were pink from embarrassment and he couldn’t stop the tips of his lips from quirking up.

"Rin-sensei is kind and he lets you use different materials, right?" Rin wasn’t sure why Makoto knew about that. Possibly from Ren and Ran. The thought of his students talking about him at home made his heart swell in pride. "Isn’t that cool?" Makoto’s voice showed utter admiration.

"It is!" The children chorused. All at once, the children spoke up again with varying tones. "He made colored sand and it was so pretty" Ren shared, voice laced with awe. "He made me a tiara and then wore one too! Princess Rinrin is good!" Aki exclaimed happily.

Makoto laughed out loud at that. “You should tell him that later when he arrives, okay?” He asked the kids sincerely.

Faces showing determination, they all nodded.

Then, out of the blue, Ran spoke out “Rin-sensei!” She was staring right at him from the middle of the room.

Rin’s whole face turned red as he stepped in the room. “I’m- I-“

"Rin-sensei!" The ten children inside the room immediately stood up and rushed towards him. Small arms wrapped around his legs and knees and the sound of laughter filled the room. "We love you!"

Trying hard not to cry in happiness, Rin crouched down and pulled the group into a hug. “Rin-sensei loves you too.” They stayed like that for a few seconds before some of the parents started peeking from the windows, signalling that they want to fetch their children now. “Now, now, you need to get your valentines’ cards and your bags so we could all go home. Are you ready?”

"Yes!"

As the children rushed to the cubbyholes, Rin walked over to Makoto and patted him on the back gratefully. “You’re such a good guy.” He said quietly, grinning as he watched the kids. It was difficult to look at him in the eye, given how he just said he would choose Rin (for marriage? It was something he really shouldn’t think about right now).

"I-" Makoto’s tone was shy and quiet. "Did you hear? Everything?"

"Yeah," Rin chuckled, trying to mask his embarrassment. "Didn’t know I was your type." He joked.

"You are." Makoto confirmed, voice barely audible. Rin looked up at his face to see his cheeks, ears and neck red. "Always has been."

"I-" Rin’s eyes widened at that revelation. So. Um. He was serious about earlier? "That’s… wow. Um." _Great going, Rin. You’re such a master of words_. “That’s nice.” He ended up saying, clearing his throat and looking back to the children. “You are too. My type, I mean.”  _Well shit._

Before Makoto could reply to that (it was kind of obvious he would hyperventilate soon though, from the way he looked like he stopped breathing and his whole face was as red as an apple), Nagisa came bouncing towards them with the biggest smile on his face. “Save the weird flirting thing later! We need to hand out the PTA forms to the parents!”

"We’re not-" Rin watched as Nagisa disappeared into the hallway, followed closely by a line of children. That brat. He sighed and slowly moved forward. "We should- um,"

"The twins are celebrating their birthdays this Saturday." Makoto blurted out randomly, not moving forward at all. He stared at Rin with hopeful eyes that made Rin’s knees weak. "Would you like to… Would you like to celebrate with us?"

Rin blinked.  _Wow._ "With your  _family_?”  _That is fast._

"I! I mean, since they obviously love you and well, um," Makoto scratched the back of his neck.

"Tell you what," Rin couldn’t help but smile. Makoto was nervous enough for the two of them, probably. "Take me out to dinner before that, and I’ll agree."

A huge smile broke out on Makoto’s face, an expression so bright it made Rin all warm inside. “Deal!”

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me at [my tumblr](moeblobmegane.tumblr.com) for ficlets. Also feel free to message me prompts and feelings about MakoRin.


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